Benedict XVI’s Words at His 90th Birthday Celebration

‘My heart is full of gratitude for the 90 years that the good God has given me. There have been trials and difficult times, but He has always guided me and brought me out of them, so that I could continue my journey’

Benedict XVI has celebrated his 90th Birthday in Bavarian Style. According to the Holy See Press Office, on April 17, 2017, the day after his birthday, the Pope Emeritus welcomed in the Vatican a group of about 50 Bavarians, dressed in traditional attire. This year, Benedict’s birthday coincided with Easter Day.

Below is a Zenit translation of Pope Benedict’s words of thanks to his “Bavarian friends” who came to the Vatican to celebrate with him at the “Mater Ecclesiae” Monastery in the Vatican Gardens, where the retired Pontiff resides:

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“My heart is full of gratitude for the 90 years that the good God has given me. There have been trials and difficult times, but He has always guided me and brought me out of them, so that I could continue my journey and I am full of gratitude especially because He has given me such a beautiful homeland that now you (the Gebirgsschutzen, Bavarian mountain riflemen) bring to me. Bavaria is beautiful [for its] creation. The country is beautiful for its bells, the houses with the balconies full of flowers, the people who are good. It is beautiful in Bavaria because God is known and it is known that it is He who created the world and that it is good when we build it together with Him. I thank you so much for having brought Bavaria here, that Bavaria open to the world, vivacious, happy, which can be so because it roots sink in the faith. To you all a ‘Vergelt’s Gott’ (God reward you), beginning with the Governor of Bavaria and all of you. I am happy that we were able to meet under this beautiful Roman blue sky, which with its white clouds recalls the white-blue flag of Bavaria – it is always the same sky . . . I wish you God’s blessing. Take my greetings home, my gratitude to you and with how much pleasure, in my heart, I continue to walk and to live in our landscapes and I hope that everything will remain so. Vergelt’s Gott.”

I express my sorrow and closeness to the dear people of Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi, affected by Cyclone Idai. I entrust the many victims and their families to the mercy of God. #PrayForAfrica #cycloneIdai